Overview
A figure-8 is a stamped plate with two screw holes, one in each lobe, and a raised ridge between them. One lobe is screwed into a shallow round recess in the top edge of the apron or rail; the other is screwed up into the underside of the tabletop. Because the plate is free to swing slightly on the apron screw, the top can expand and contract across its width while staying pulled down. It is the commonest hidden answer to the question of how to fix a solid top to its base.
Types and sizes
One size covers almost every table: about 1 in (25 mm) lobes. Steel with a zinc plate is standard; brass is used when the fastener is visible, for example on an open frame. The plate is thin, so the screws that go with it are small, normally No. 6 x 5/8 in (about 3.5 x 16 mm) pan-head screws (see Wood screw).
Where it is used
Neo-Shaker, Arts and Crafts and Mission tables attach their solid tops this way, usually with four to eight fasteners per table. The hayrake and trestle tables in the example library use the figure-8 on every apron.
Choosing and sizing
Plan on one fastener roughly every 300 to 450 mm (12 to 18 in) along each long apron, with one or two at each end rail. A small table needs four, a 1.8 m (6 ft) dining table about eight. The top moves across its width, so it is the long aprons (which run along the grain of the top, near its edges) that need the pivoting fasteners. On an end rail, one fixed screw at the centre is fine, because the top does not move there; let the fasteners nearer the rail ends pivot.
Installation
- Drill a shallow, flat-bottomed recess in the top edge of the apron with a Forstner bit about as wide as the lobe, 1 in (25 mm), and deep enough that the plate sits just below the top surface of the apron: about 1.5 to 2 mm (1/16 in).
- Lay the plate in the recess, centred on the apron, with the second lobe projecting outward; for a wide top the projecting lobe must clear the edge of the recess so the plate can rotate.
- Drive a short screw through the apron lobe with a pilot hole. Do not overdrive; the plate should rotate with light pressure.
- Place the top face down, put the base on it, centre it, and mark each outer hole. Pre-drill and drive a screw through each outer lobe, stopping well short of the top face (screw length must be less than the top thickness minus 6 mm, 1/4 in).
Wood movement and species
A solid top 900 mm (36 in) wide can change width by several millimetres between seasons; the Wood Handbook gives the shrinkage method used for estimating that change. Orient the fasteners so that the plate swings along the movement direction, and use no glue anywhere between top and base. In oily or resinous woods (see Teak) the recess holds oil that can stain the plate; use brass.
Common mistakes
- Screws driven right through the top: measure the top thickness and set the screw length.
- Plate bound in its recess: recess cut too small, or the plate's second lobe not clear of the apron edge.
- Only one or two fasteners on a very wide top: the top lifts at the corners.
- Gluing the top to the base at the same time: the top will split along the grain the first winter.
Related
- Z-clip: slotted-kerf alternative.
- Tabletop button: shop-made version for aprons with a groove.
- Wood screw: the screws used.
Styles it suits
Suitable for
Fixes into: hardwood, softwood.
In our designs
Our example designs model this as TabletopFastener_Figure8, placed with a hardware_mount join.
Sources
Updated 2026-10-03. Sizes and ratings are typical trade figures drawn from the sources above. A load rating is the maker's rating for one product, not a property of the type: check the maker's own sheet, and test a fit on scrap before cutting good wood.